NAGC Demonstrates Increased Focus on 2e Awareness

MINNEAPOLIS — The 2018 National Association of Gifted Students hosted more than 2,000 educators, administrators, researchers, professionals, and parents in Minneapolis in November at its 65th annual conference. Dr. Michele Borba delivered the event’s opening keynote, focusing on the importance of developing empathy in students. The author of UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed, concluded her presentation with a sing-along of “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” — AKA the Cheers theme song. A former classroom teacher, Borba is an educational psychologist and NBC contributor who focuses on parenting, character development, child behavior, and empathy. During three days of events, there were 16 sessions focused specifically on twice-exceptionality and twice-exceptional students, as well as a mini-keynote by Megan Foley-Nicpon on effective strategies for 2e youth and a meet-up chat on 2e issues. Dr. Foley-Nicpon, who is a University of Iowa professor and associate director for the Belin-Blank Center, emphasized the importance of social-emotional support to help 2e students succeed academically and also encouraged parents and educators to set high expectations to help “normalize” students’ disabilities. The increased focus on twice-exceptionality at the conference was no accident. Jonathan Plucker, NAGC conference program chair and president elect, said that in traveling and speaking to teachers around the country and world, 2e was a hot topic. “These are the kids that kept me up at night,” during his own teaching career, Plucker says. “They can’t catch a break.” Plucker noted Foley-Nicpon’s mini-keynote, which was followed by deeper dives into twice-exceptionality in the form of the various sessions. “We did it this year with 2e, and we’re going to do it next year [at the 2019 conference] in Albuquerque,” said Plucker, adding that he feel NAGC has a moral and ethical obligation to help these kids. A panel comprised of members NAGC’s Assessments of Giftedness Special Interest group discussed the use of the WISC-V in identifying gifted and twice-exceptional students. After examining data on 390 children from seven states, the group recommended that the WISC-V Full Scale IQ score should not be required in a comprehensive assessment because it may penalize gifted and twice-exceptional children with disabilities. In the group’s position statement for NAGC, they urged those involved in the selection process for gifted programs to accept any one of a list of WISC-V scores and subtests, if they fall within the confidence interval of the required score for admission. (For the complete text of the position statement, click here) Group member Sylvia Rimm, from the Family Achievement Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, cautioned against a primary focus on the full scale IQ because working memory and processing speed can often bring down this score. “We are not worried about over-identifying gifted kids,” Rimm said. “We are worried about under-identifying those kids, missing those kids who are not quite making it in some area and have the potential to really make a contribution and really need the challenge of gifted programming.”

Session highlights

2e News attended many of the sessions. Some of these are profiled here: In Demystifying the Twice-Exceptional Paradox, Patricia Gatto-Walden spoke about misconceptions and misperceptions of 2e students. Among these were the impact of a poor working memory — or as she described it, being the “absent-minded professor” — which allows some 2e learners to remember only a couple of items on a five-item list, for example. “It looks like they’re not paying attention, but it’s not intentional,” says Gatto-Walden, a consultant and licensed psychologist. “It’s not their fault; it’s a neurological prefrontal issue.” The presenter, who served two terms as chair of the Global Awareness Network of the National Association of Gifted Children and is a senior fellow for the Institute of Educational Advancement, also explained how processing speed issues can create anxiety and poor test results. She asserts that bright kids see too many possibilities, which is exacerbated when having to write a paragraph. These kids want to see the whole first, but on a timed test, they can’t get all of their thoughts out. This can impact self-esteem, with kids proclaiming “I’m not as bright as they think I am.” Gatto-Walden says verbal testing can address these processing speed issues much of the time. She also spoke about the pitfalls of identification of 2e learners. “Districts can say a student doesn’t need services if he’s getting C’s,” she says, “Even if other verbal scores are sky high.” In Feature Matching of Assistive Technology for Twice-Exceptional Students, Patricia A. Bahr, Thomas Shaff, and Laurie J. Croft shared specific tools, technologies, and websites that can provide or serve as accommodations for twice-exceptional learners. One example was a child faced with blank paper anxiety; she was unable to start a paper or story. The child was given a dictation tool. She put her headphones on and activated the device, then turned away from the paper and told her original story to her teddy bear. Then the student returns to her work and “the page isn’t blank!” Now the child can edit her piece. The presenters also spoke about the pushback that assistive technology use can spur, with educators, parents, or other students asserting that its usage for some students is unfair to the rest of the class. Their response to the pushback? “It’s unfair that they think it’s unfair. It’s the law.” Croft is associate director for professional development at the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development; Shaff is founder/director of  Posse Vygotsky, LLC; and Bahr is the director of the Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research at the University of Iowa. In Essential Tips for Parenting Your Twice-Exceptional Child, the presenters covered obstacles and strategies for parents of 2e kids to employ. [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]We are worried about under-identifying those kids, missing those kids who are not quite making it in some area and have the potential to really make a contribution and really need the challenge of gifted programming.[/perfectpullquote] Alissa Doobay, Megan Foley-Nipcon, Tracy Ksiazak, all of the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa, began by discussing challenges in the identification of 2e students, citing a study that estimates there are 385,000 2e students in the U.S. But they consider this to be a low estimate, as it is based on IEPs. Not all 2e students have IEPs, and 504s were not counted in the estimate. Without identification, intervention is unlikely, and misunderstanding of the child’s difficulties leads to frustration for students, parents, and educators. This ends up with underachievement and disengagement on the student’s part. Included among the tips for parents were:

• Understand twice-exceptionality
• Expect the norm to be the exception to the norm
• Obtain a comprehensive evaluation, which can be difficult because many families can’t afford such an evaluation
• Recognize and address the child’s unique social and emotional needs
• Initiate research-based and strength-based interventions
• Become an effective advocate
• Assume a strengths-based approach
• Recognize that 2e kids can be accelerated with accommodation
• Remember that as parents, “you are not alone” and can access available programs and supports
• Remember that “these are great kids!”

In Using Strength-Based Pedagogy to Engage and Challenge 2e Students, presenters Sally Reis and Susan Baum discussed the importance and effectiveness in employing a strengths-based strategies in supporting twice-exceptional students. Baum questioned why talent development often is not included on IEPs, also noting the importance of professional development in this area. “It isn’t always (natural) for educators not educated in strength-based to suggest strength-based,” she said. Reis illustrated how some twice-exceptional students don’t want accommodations, with one student describing them as “intellectual cheating,” thus highlighting the importance of a strength-based strategy. Baum shared an example of a Rhode Island classroom in which the teacher gave students multiple options on how and with which medium they could learn about the subject matter, whether it be through reading, audio, the internet, or other options. “Everyone can choose the way they want to learn,” Baum says. Reis is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology at The University of Connecticut and is past-president of NAGC. Baum is the director of the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development and past NAGC board of directors member. In Raising Twice-Exceptionality Awareness: What to Do and How to Do It, presenters Chin-Wen Lee and Jennifer Ritchotte discuss raising awareness of 2e through professional learning. The presenters covered a multiple case-study research project that highlighted what school districts were doing to train teachers and improve support for 2e students. They also ran a brainstorm session on what currently is available and working in attendees’ districts, and what opportunities for additional services could be implemented. Lee is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Louisville, and Ritchotte is an assistant professor of special education-gifted and talented at the University of Northern Colorado. Other sessions we attended: A Multiple-Perspective Approach to Educating Twice-Exceptional Students Patty Costis, Norfolk Public Schools Twice-exceptional students are often hard to identify because they intellectual strengths can mask their disabilities. “Once you control for their condition, you see their strengths really emerge. As gifted educators, it’s part of our job to look for those little sparks.” Educating 2e students requires a multi-disciplinary team that provides differentiated instruction, support for social-emotional deficits, instructional accommodations, acceleration options, and talent development. “The trick is to tightly weave different strategies and abilities into goals and objectives to be able to say that the student will continue to grow.” Strategies to Foster Success for Twice-Exceptional Students in STEM Education Lisa Kiss, Tuplehocken Area School District Twice-exceptional students often struggle to learn basic skills and need compensation strategies to master basic skills and information. Their capacity for advanced learning endows them with robust observational skills, but they struggle with documenting their work and ideas. When a 2e student is not making progress, it is helpful to include learning strategies that employ visual, tactile or kinesthetic elements, such as labs and virtual labs, and graphing software that enables students to create, explore, and interpret visual representations through advanced graphic organizers. Twice-Exceptional Parent and School Partnerships: Ten Ways to Maximize Two-way Advocacy Ken Dickson, Educational Support & Consulting Network Parents of twice-exceptional students often face challenges when advocating for their students in school settings. All schools have the obligation to evaluate all children regardless of cognitive skills and qualified students with disabilities must be given opportunities to compete for and benefit from accelerated programs. Questions to ask to advocate for your students include: What is the state/district’s position, philosophy, and attitude about supporting 2e students? How can parents support the district and vice-versa? In what ways are teachers prepared to meet the need of 2e learners? What systems and processes does the district use to identify and place 2e learners in gifted programs? In what ways are 2e students curricular and instructional needs met? On the Spectrum: Strategies for Success with 2E Gifted/ASD Students Emily Kircher-Morris, Unlimited Potential Counseling and Education Center Successful interventions for 2E learners who are on the autism spectrum are ones that build on students’ strengths and gifts. Employing coping skills can help students develop emotional awareness and the ability to self-regulate. Explicit scaffolding to build more flexible thinking includes supporting expectations through visual schedules and verbal instructions, gradually increasing options within plans and processing transitions. Teaching dialectical thinking can also help mitigate rigid thinking patterns, helping students recognize that there is always more than one way to see a situation and solve a problem. Parents can overcome perceived stigma of an ASD diagnosis by focusing on the strengths and not being afraid to speak out. VIDEO BELOW: University of Houston-Downtown professor Dr. Matthew Fugate talks to 2e News about what excites him in the world of 2e and what the challenges are. Dr. Fugate currently serves on the Board for the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented, and as the Publication Chair for the Special Populations Network and the Awards Co-Chair for the Research and Evaluation Network of the National Association for Gifted Children. Some session description information courtesy NAGC. Article reporting by Chris Wiebe and Jon Baum.